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Poland
The Polish have the Power of Liberty. They replace the Persians. Suggestions and Spoilers *Strengths: Very strong military units, expansive capabilities and good defence. *Weaknesses: Poor training speed reduces Polish units' strategic flexibility. Poland's unique units have a substantial hitpoint bonus. In fact, compared to many factions, the only thing that can be said to be worthwhile about Polish unique infantry and its signature knight, the Towarzysz is that they have extremely high hitpoints. Polish light infantry are the reverse of Asian light infantry: Asian conscripts might not survive a battle for long without replenishments but Poland's Wojaky, however, are doughty fighters, although a bit hard to recruit, and they and their descendants are the only melee unit capable of holding their ground against the Mongol steppe nomad line. The downside about this however is that these same units have a production time penalty, in that they are created more slowly than other units. The Polish player would thus be somewhat vulnerable against many factions with have a production speed bonus on their unique infantry lines, such as the Imperial Landsknechte (of which there are three!) or even the Asians who are masters at flooding battlefields with lines of conscript troops. Ideally, you should build more than one barracks, so that you can train a mix of archers and pikemen from one, and then your unique medium infantry from the other, so as to avoid having a logjam during resupply of your armies. Apart from the slow-training elite units, Poland too has other tricks up its sleeve, such as the Dark Age druzhinnik. This is actually a lancer unit that consumes more metal, while saving wealth, meaning that Poland as a faction is highly dependent on mercenaries and other units it can find at the beginning. Fortunately, its signature unit, the Towarzysz Veteran, is substantially cheaper in the Imperial Era - it is only created slightly slower than a normal Man-At-Arms, but has no wealth in its ramp. As part of the "East European" culture, alongside Russia and Serbia, the Poles can also build the Detinets', a massive fortification that also has a special unit: the Kipchak War Rider, a medium-strength cavalry unit. Poland and (any other faction that can build or capture this wonder) can sometimes rely on War Riders to fill whatever gaps there are in the army. Much thanks to the arrival of migrants from Bohemia and Germany, Poland also has access to the Howitzer - a mediocre but cheap field gun which despite having fixed range, has tremendous splash damage which can be counted on for massacring rucks of enemy infantry. This means that essentially, Poland is not a faction meant for tactically aggressive play. That said, it does have its own special perks: the 50% extra food you begin with and the discounts you receive on civics research means that you should plan ahead how to benefit as much from this food resource. Ideally, you should place emphasis on medical research so as to ensure that the speed at which you create your unique units is as its fastest where possible. Free tax upgrades and free spawning caravans also means that you will always be receiving sufficient wealth, which can then be plowed into archers, gunpowder units and mercenaries. Even if cities are cheaper due to your diminished Civics cost, you should be careful about where to place your senate - unless of course, it was pre-placed. Because Poland can create two capital cities, which then must be captured in order to force you to capitulate, you can use the placement of your capitals on the map to wage psychological warfare: force your opponents to either split their forces up, or to concentrate on one site as a diversionary tactic. Attrition research is a must when playing the Poles in order to secure your capitals from the enemy and to slow him down, in order for you to bring forth your resilient but slow-training forces to bear. Faction summary *Very defensive faction specialising in agriculture and taxation. *The Best Offense .... — Polish units are known for their good defensive qualities: hardy infantry, and later, cheap heavy cavalry. However, production speed is often hampered, meaning that a Polish offensive war requires more effort than more flexible factions such as France or Turkey. *A Tale of Two Cities — Poland can create two capital cities, which then must be captured to defeat you. Placement of these can force your opponents to either split their forces up, or to concentrate on one site as a diversionary tactic. *Scorched Earth — As with Portugal, research is necessary to survive. Attrition research is vital to secure your capitals and to slow down foes so that your resilient but slow-training forces can attack. *Outsmart, Outgun, Outlast — You are better off using gunpowder units as they are relatively cheaper for you. Savings in wealth from your heavy cavalry units, the Druzhinnik and the Towarzysz, can be redirected to research, mercenaries and gunpowder units. Settlements: Krakow; Vilnius; Lvov; Raseiniai; Anyksciai; Birstonas; Skuodas; Alytus; Warsaw; Wroclaw; Lodz; Trakai; Ukmerge; Szczecin; Gdansk; Poznan; Bialystok; Lublin; Bydgoszcz; Gorzow; Katowice; Opole; Torun; Olsztyn; Kielce; Zielona Gora; Rzeszow; Klaipeda; Kaunas Leaders: '''Wladyslaw the Exile, Jagiellon, Vytautas, Casimir the Great, Leszek the White, Jadwiga, Boleslaw Wrymouth '''Best age(s): Imperial History Little is known of Poland's history until 966, when its rulers were baptised. In the following period the country, initially a duchy, maintained a loose relation with the Holy Roman Empire, sometimes as a vassal, sometimes as an ally. Foundation Of The Polish Crown In 1025 Duke Boleslaw the Brave was crowned Poland's first King, establishing the Polish nation as a unified polity, but barely a century afterward, the kingdom was plunged back into civil war. Boleslaw III thought a more lasting peace could be achieved by dividing his kingdom between his male heirs: instead, the Kingdom fell apart in four different pieces that essentially became independent duchies when he passed away in 1038. Poland remained fractured until the end of the 13th century. By then, two major events had taken place. Firstly, the Mongol invasion had devastated the Polish countryside after the defeat of the Polish army at Liegnitz. The severity and extent of the destruction is still debated, but it was most likely responsible for the second event: the German Ostsiedlung. In the wake of the Mongol invasion, parts of Poland was depopulated, and many German settlers moved east. These migrants hoped to turn from serfs in Germany to respectable freemen beyond the Empire's borders, and they helped revive agricultural production and crafts in some areas, as well as creating (or re-populating) Polish cities. German institutions and town laws influenced many aspects of Polish urban life, as German laws were often held to be more advanced and subsequently adopted. It is thus not easy to differentiate between Germans and Germanised Poles. Joining the Germans were Jews, who were banished from England by Edward I. Consolidation of the Kingdom Wladyslaw I became King in 1320 and spearheaded another period of unification, partly with foreign assistance. His son Kazimierz (Casimir) III 'the Great' made even more of an impression. He founded an important and lasting university, at Krakow in 1364, making it one of the first of such centres of learning north of the Alps. The king too was an adept military leader: despite facing at the beginning of his reign threats from both Bohemia and the Teutonic Order, the King not only managed to keep them at bay, but also managed to expand his Kingdom by the time of his death. pt:Polónia The Union of Krewo and Conflict With the Teutonic Order Kazimierz, however, left no male heir. Yet his daughter, 'King' Jadwiga, cancelled her engagement with Sigismund of Luxembourg, who would later become Holy Roman Emperor, and married the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiello instead. This arrangement ensured independence from the Empire and served to strengthen Poland's military with the expertise of the Lithuanians who specialised in light raiding tactics inspired by the Mongols. Together, the two countries fought against the Teutonic Order and inflicted a very major defeat on it in 1410 at Grunwald (or Tannenberg). Initially, the battle had no direct political repercussions, although it coincided with the beginning of a permanent drop in western volunteers flocking to the Order. Yet, by the end of the 15th century the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was now a mere vassal of Poland. Poland thus had successfully neutralised its most important enemies: the Empire was no longer encroaching on her borders; the Teutonic Order had ceased to exist; the Lithuanian Grand Duchy in the east was a close ally in a dynastic union; and the Mongols were gone for good. She had survived the Middle Ages, but the future was to offer many more crises to be overcome. References *Age of Chivalry: Hegemony Wiki; [http://ageofchivalry-hegemony.wikia.com/wiki/History#Poland_.281025_on.29 Poland — A History] Category:Factions Category:Spoiler Category:Catholics